Finland commits to reduce fossil fuel import, ban coal use for energy by 2030

Stepping up its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Finland has recently announced its plans to cut its dependency on imported fossil fuels by half and ban the use of coal for power generation by 2030, making it the first industrialized country in the world to ban coal power.

“We are making a determined move towards a cleaner energy system in Finland,” says the minister of foreign trade and development Kai Mykkänen. “This has required a total shift in our thinking of what could and should be the sources of energy and how our transportation and power system should be structured.”

Both measures will also create room for investment in renewable energies.

The target to reduce oil imports will bring massive reductions in emissions. Decreasing the amount of oil imports will also require significant changes in the whole transportation system to create a more service-based mobility and easier access to public transport.

This will also mean a 30% increase in the use of bikes and walking. The strategy also foresees 250,000 electric cars – or 10% of the country’s car fleet – on Finnish roads by 2030.

However, the 250,000 electric cars will not suffice to ensure Finland will reach its greenhouse gas target of 39%, to which it is committed under the overall EU effort to reduce emission. Therefore, the Finnish government has decided to increase the share of biofuels blended in liquid fuels to 30% by 2030 as well.

“There are many biofuel refinery investments being planned in Finland now,” Mykkänen points out. “As raw materials these would use waste and side-products of the forest industry, which cannot be used for the production of more value-added wood-derived products such as pulp, paper, logs for houses or modern wood-based composite materials.”

The minister of economic affairs Olli Rehn agrees with Mykkänen’s view of the future. “We are facing a global and fundamental change in energy economics,” Rehn says. “We are building a lasting bridge to fully emission-free and carbon neutral energy economics in Finland in 2050.”